Science fiction is a popular kind of writing, and many people think of Jules Verne as the father of science fiction. He was born in France in 1828. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but from his early 20s Verne decided to; become a writer. At first he wrote plays for the theatre. Then, in 1863, he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon. The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories such as A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864)and From the Earth to the Moon(1865).

In the 19th century, many people were interested in science and inventions. Jules Verne wrote about scientific subjects in his stories and as a result, they were very popular. Verne's writing included many predictions for the 20th century and many of them came true. He described space flight, movies, and air conditioning, a long time before they appeared. These books were very successful and they made Verne rich.

    Jules Verne's books have been the subjects for many movies. 20, 000 Leagues under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney. It was the first Disney movie to use real actors instead of cartoon drawings .Around the world in Eighty Days is another famous movie based on one of Verne's books. The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg. For him, the most important thing is to be always on time!

    A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms( 习语 ), though my teacher emphasized(强调) the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

    One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished. Gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don't say!” “You don't say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate(合适的) topic. “Well, I'd better change the topic.” So I said to him. “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent(宏伟的).” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his words “You don't say!” I couldn't help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn't request you to do so,” he answered, greatly surprised. I said, “Didn't you say ‘you don't say?'” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “‘You don't say' actually means ‘really!'. It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don't pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions(习语表达). Remember -- what the English teachers said is always right to us students.

D

    Linda was Tara's best friend before, but now things are different. Tara is a member of Purple Girls Club and they have some rules about who they can be friends with. Linda isn't very pretty and doesn't wear cool clothes. So she can't be in their club. Now Tara is making a name list for her party, and she decides not to invite Linda.

    “Tara, come here.” her mother calls from the living room. Tara goes to her mother and sees the school report card in her hands.

    “Tara, what's the matter with you? You have failed(不及格)math and English and you did badly in all of your other subjects. You were such a good student before!”

    Tara sees the disappointment in her mom's eyes. She feels terrible. The activities of Purple Girls Club leave her very little time for studies. The girls get together almost daily for movies, shopping and surfing the Internet. She calls every friend in the club and asks them to help her. But they all refuse(拒绝）and say, “Who cares about studies now?” This makes Tara even sadder.

    Later, Tam's mom takes her to Linda's house across the street. Tara says sorry and Linda is glad to have her friend back. She happily helps Tara with her studies.

    Tara now has a new rule for friendship and it is that a friend that lends a helping hand is a true friend.

A student walks into the teacher's office with his heavy schoolbag slowly and looks worried. "What's happening?" the teacher asks. He tells a lot of small things that make him really unhappy. Then the teacher stops working and decides to do something to help the little boy.

He asks the student to get a glass of water and some salt* from a box. The teacher asks the student to put the salt into the glass of water and drink it.

"How does it taste*?"the teacher asks.

"It doesn't taste good."the student answers.

The teacher doesn't say anything else, but asks the student to get the same amount* of salt and go with the teacher to a nearby lake.

"Put the salt into the lake,"the teacher says. The student does what the teacher says.

"Now, taste the water from the lake,"the teacher says.

The student gets some water from the lake with his hands and tastes, the teacher asks,"How does it taste?"

"Fresh and a bit sweet,"the student answers quickly.

"Do you taste the salt?"the teacher asks.

"No,"the student shakes his head.

The teacher sits beside the student,"The pain* of life is just like salt—no more, no less.

However, how salty it tastes depends* on the container* you put the pain in."

"How do you feel now?"asks the teacher.

The student looks at the teacher with a big smile. He feels much better now.

"Thank you for giving me such a lesson. I think I will never forget the taste of them and learn to be a lake."